Track-fastener.



J. W. STEPHENSON. I

TRACK FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. a, 1913. RENEWED 0011. a1, 1913.

951 atozmego Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'JOHN W. STEPHENSON, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL MALLEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

TRACK-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters l atent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

Application filed March a, 1913, Serial no. 751,671. neireweateteber '31, 1913. Serial No. 758;588.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jo'HN V. STEPHENSON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Toledo, Lucas county, Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Track-Fastener, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows in section the application of my improved fastener to a rail; Fig. 2 is a similar section showing another position of the rail and the fastener, Fig. 3 is a plan of the construction shown in 2, and Figs. at and 5 are details of the shim and the guide plate respectively. I

My invention relates to track fasteners of the type in which the parts are secured to the rails by means of wedges cooperating with bendable locking means.

My improvement consists in means for moving the rails in such track fasteners to compensate for wear of the rails without disturbing the engagement of the fasteners with the ties.

My device is especially useful on curves on which traffic is heavy and upon which excessive wear of the rails is caused by wheel flanges, thus necessitating frequent moving of the rails in order to maintain the requisite gage of the track. The frequent mov ing of the rails entails a large amountof labor and results in the ties being spike killed that is so riddled and split with the frequent spiking that their life is extremely short, and the expense of labor and maintenance accordingly high. With my device the labor cost is low and the life of the ties is greatly increased, since by the application of my invention I am enabled to maintain the fastener plates in their initial positions, while the movement and change of parts permits readjustment of the rails without disturbance of the fastener plates from their positions on the ties.

Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates the rail and 3 the fastener plate, which is adapted to be spiked or otherwise secured to the tie. The plate 3 has a jaw 4 adapted to engage one edge of the rail base. At the opposite side the base plate 3 has projections 5, which are inclined from the ends of the plate toward the rail and which, with the outer face 6 of the guide member 7 form guideways for the wedge members 8, the

overlying the upper surface of the rail,

flange, and end clamps 15 for engagingthe ends of the jaw 4 to prevent movement relative to the plate. The shim 13 i's also adapted for insertion between the guide member 7 and the opposite flange of the rail in the manner later to be described.

It is customary on railroads to use the rails until the inner faces of the rail head have become so worn that in order to maintain the gage the rails must be moved. One rail together with its tie plates are then taken up and moved toward the other rail, and rail and tie plates respiked to the tie. This operation is repeated alternately on both rails until they are so worn that they can no longer be used and then the rails must be replaced and the tie plates respiked in initial position. As has been explained this frequent respiking renders the life of the ties comparatively short.

Employing my invention in the usual practice on railroads, I apply my fastener to the rails as is shown in Fig. 1 with the shim 13 in place between the jaw 4: and the flange of the rail. Then when the heads of the rails have become worn by the flanges of the wheels to such an extent that there is necessitated a reestablishment of the standard gage, I drive out the wedges 8, thus releasing the locking engagement of the fastener parts with the rail, remove the shim 13 from its position under the jaw f, and insert it between the opposite flange of the rail and the guide member 7 and drive the wedges into the guideways until the bend able ends of the wedges lock in the deflecting channels 10. This operation as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 forces the rail against the jaw 4 this moving the rail toward the opposite rail a distance equal to the width of the shim 13, and thus restores the proper gage. hen further Wear on the heads of the rails takes place which requires the gage to be rectified a second time, I remove the shim 13 from the fasteners on the opposite rail, and insert them between the guide member 7 and the other base of the rail. When the wedges are again driven in, their action will force the second rail toward the rail first moved and again restore the gage. The use of a reversible shim of this character makes it unnecessary to drive the wedges a greater distance into their guideways, as would ordinarily be necessary if the shim 13 were simply removed and not re-applied on the other side of the rail. When the rails have reached the point of unfitness through further wear, they may be reversed so that the unworn outer sides of the rail heads will then become the inner faces of the rails. The cycle of operations may then be repeated, and when both sets of rails have again been moved inward in the manner described above, they are usually replaced.

Various modifications may be made in the construction and application of the track fasteners which I have described and shown herein, without departing from my invention, since .Vhat I claim is:

1. In a track fastener, a fastener plate having on one side a rail gripping jaw and on the other side a projection, wedging means cooperating with said projection, and bendable locking means cotiperating with a curved guide-way for locking said wedging means to said plate, and a reversible shim member adapted for insertion on either side of the rail base, between the said projection or said jaw and the rail, whereby the rail may be adjusted transversely of said plate.

2. In a track fastener, a fastener plate having on one side a rail gripping jaw and on the other side a projection, a guiding member adapted to bear on one base flange of the rail, and to form with said projection a guideway, a wedge member operating in said guideway, bendable means for locking the wedge member in said guideway, and a shim adapted for insertion on either side of the rail base and between the jaw or the guide member and the rail.

JOHN W. STEPHENSON.

Witnesses:

CHESTER K. BROOKS, HARRY E. ORR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

